Discussion

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Nashville Ugly Cries, Empire Kills Someone But We Don’t Know Who & Azrael Abyss Checks Into Arrow

A quick SPOILERY roundup for Wednesday, May 18. What did you think about last night? And what’d we miss? Let us know in the comments!

NASHVILLE

Next week Nashville will finally meet the Grim Reaper after four messy and exhausting seasons. I know the cancelation really hurts some of y’all. The rest of us consider this a mercy killing. As always, the biggest/only reason to watch this show is Deacon and Rayna. Last night they had a few agonizing therapy sessions, resulting in yelling, ugly crying and a teeny tiny move toward reconciliation. Also: they want Maddie back just in case you didn’t already know that!!! Meanwhile there were the ever-present random cameos (Elton John and the hosts of the View) and more Derek Hough than anyone really needs to see.

ARROW

Arrow’s villain Damien Darhk followed up last week’s nuke-fest with a comparatively minor blowout of Star City. (All we can think about when see the name “Damien Darhk” is that he sounds like the special guest on Saturday Night Live’s Goth Talk, hosted by Azrael Abyss (Prince of Sorrows) and Circe Nightshade.) The general idea behind the episode “Lost in the Flood” is that Arrow’s writers suddenly remembered that the Green Arrow ran for mayor on a platform which promised Hope and Change, so the time was apparently right to bring back the hope theme again. The micro issues of the episode revolved around Smoak family drama, fights, flashbacks and big kabooms.

EMPIRE

Fox teased Empire‘s season two finale with the promise that A LYON WILL FALL. So OF COURSE the show didn’t bother to tell you WHO ACTUALLY DIES. The episode ends with Anika and Rhonda fighting Dynasty-style, leading to someone falling off a balcony to almost certain death. This cheats viewers in two ways. Since the Empire promos proclaimed a Lyon was going to die, everyone assumed it would be one of the five core Lyons– Cookie, Lucious, Hakeem, Jamal or Andre. No matter how enjoyable Rhonda and Anika are, they’re still supporting characters on the show. That’s not to say that either death would be inconsequential, since both have been involved in baby-driven plots involving Lyon heirs.

Which brings us to the second way the finale cheats the fans…. it deprives them of an entire summer of agony about the loss of the character and how it will impact the other characters. Season 1 ended with the killer cliffhanger of Lucious going to prison (“game on, bitches.”) This finale was lame by comparison. However, as any fan of The L Word will attest, this is what you get from show-runner Ilene Chaiken: every other season is a mess. (But we love that mess).

Silver lining? Season three will probably be a blockbuster.

What do you think, viewers? Is it more satisfying to answer the “who dies” question than to tease viewers with a non-answer? Which one is more likely to get you to watch for season 3?